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W. J. Monk

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The Reverend
W. J. Monk
Portrait from Fifty Years of Food Reform (1898)
Born
William John Monk

c. 1820
Kent, England
Died(1896-07-10)10 July 1896 (aged 76)
Doddington, England
EducationUniversity of Cambridge (BA, 1842; MA, 1857)
Occupation(s)Clergyman, activist
Spouses
Alice Pickup
​
​
(m. 1852, died)​
W. Gardner
​
(m. 1857)​

William John Monk (c. 1820 – 10 July 1896) was an English clergyman and activist for vegetarianism and temperance. He was a vice-president of the Vegetarian Society.[1][2]

Life and career

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Monk was born in Kent around 1820.[3] He obtained his BA in 1842 and MA in 1857 from the University of Cambridge.[4] He became an ordained deacon in 1843 in Chester and priest in 1844.[4]

Monk was the curate at Christ Church, Preston (1843–1845), Walton-le-Dale (1846–1847), Blackburn (1850–1853), Great Grimsby (1853–1858), St Alphege, Canterbury (1859–1863), Chartham, Kent (1863–1871) and vicar of Doddington (1872–1896).[4]

Monk suffered from indigestion and became a teetotaller in 1876.[5] In 1878, Monk commented "I am now a strict vegetarian, living on farinaceous food, fruit and vegetables. I drink nothing, not even water, a little milk and oatmeal porridge suffices for breakfast–butter and eggs I seldom touch".[5] He was chairman and a speaker at Vegetarian Society meetings where he argued that vegetarianism is not a costly practice and that people could do well on a diet that contained no animal flesh.[6]

Monk was President of the National Food Reform Society which later became the Vegetarian Society's London Auxiliary.[3][5] He resigned in 1888.[3] Monk was also a vice-president of the Anti-Narcotic League and the Vegetarian Society for many years. He was on the committee of the East Kent Branch of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.[5] He was on the council of the United Kingdom Alliance and was secretary of the Canterbury Church of England Temperance Society.[1][7]

Personal life and death

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Monk married Alice Pickup in 1852, after her death he married W. Gardner in 1857.[4] He died on 10 July 1896 at Doddington Vicarage, aged 76.[4] His death was caused by a malignant growth.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b Kean, Hilda. (1998). Animal Rights: Political and Social Change in Britain Since 1800. Reaktion Books. pp. 125-126. ISBN 1-86189-014-1
  2. ^ Preece, Rod. (2008). Sins of the Flesh: A History of Ethical Vegetarian Thought. UBC Press. p. 274. ISBN 978-0-7748-1509-3
  3. ^ a b c Gregory, James Richard Thomas Elliott (2002). "Biographical Index of British Vegetarians and Food reformers of the Victorian Era". The Vegetarian Movement in Britain c.1840–1901: A Study of Its Development, Personnel and Wider Connections (PDF). Vol. 2. University of Southampton. p. 82. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e Venn, John Archibald (1922). Alumni cantabrigienses; a biographical list of all known students, graduates and holders of office at the University of Cambridge, from the earliest times to 1900;. Cambridge University Press. p. 441.
  5. ^ a b c d Forward, Charles Walter (1898). Fifty Years of Food Reform: A History of the Vegetarian Movement in England. London, Manchester: The Ideal Publishing Union, The Vegetarian Society. p. 82.
  6. ^ "The Vegetarian Society". Birmingham Mail. 16 May 1888. p. 3. (subscription required)
  7. ^ a b "Doddington". East Kent Gazette. 27 July 1946. p. 2. (subscription required)
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